National Bank Lifts Dividend After Quarterly Earnings Rise

By Robb M. Stewart

National Bank of Canada boosted its dividend 5.1% after earnings rose in the latest quarter as revenue was buoyed by its largest-ever acquisition and growth in personal and commercial loans and deposits.

Net income rose to 1.06 billion Canadian dollars ($758.1 million), or C$2.57 a share, for the fiscal fourth quarter from C$955 million, or C$2.68, a year earlier.

On an adjusted basis that excludes certain items including acquisition costs, per-share earnings climbed to C$2.82 for the three months to Oct. 31, ahead of the C$2.62 mean estimate of analysts polled by FactSet.

The bank's overall revenue jumped 26% for the quarter to C$3.7 billion, beating the C$3.45 billion expected by analysts.

Net interest income was up 49% at C$1.17 billion, while non-interest income increased 17% to C$2.53 billion.

The Montreal-based bank recorded C$244 million in provisions for credit losses in the latest period, versus C$162 million a year earlier. That topped the roughly C$206 million analysts anticipated.

National Bank's board declared a quarterly dividend of C$1.24 a share, up C$0.06. The dividend will be payable Feb. 1 to shareholders of record on Dec. 29.

Canada's sixth-largest lender in February completed the C$5.3 billion takeover of Canadian Western Bank, significantly expanding its footprint in Alberta and British Columbia from what had largely been a focus on Quebec. This week, it moved to beef up in Quebec with a deal to buy the retail and small business operations of Laurentian Bank of Canada for roughly book value as part of a break up of the smaller lender.

National Bank's common equity Tier 1 ratio stood at 13.8% at the end of October, well above the at least 11.5% of total risk-weighted assets required of Canada's six biggest lenders by the country's banking regulator.

Write to Robb M. Stewart at robb.stewart@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 03, 2025 07:41 ET (12:41 GMT)